The Social Venture Plan Competition

Can business be a catalyst for good? Can a startup change the world?

As a college deeply rooted in Christian faith and values, we’d like to think so. Further, as a Principles of Responsible Management (PRME) champion, we encourage our students to think about how their entrepreneurial ideas might contribute to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) – another approach to making a difference.

For those reasons and more, the Center for Applied Learning sponsors the annual Social Venture Plan Competition (SVPC), a unique business pitch event designed to encourage SPU students from a variety of majors to develop entrepreneurial projects with social impact.

How It Works

The Social Venture Plan Competition (SVPC) asks teams of students from diverse disciplines to develop an entrepreneurial project that addresses dual bottom lines: social and financial. Participants tackle challenging social issues while proposing innovative ways to provide sustainable funding for their solutions through a business activity.

Businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and other community partners evaluate and score the written business plans, after which competitors pitch their projects to faculty, staff, students, and judges at a live trade-show display event on the SPU campus. The teams with the highest cumulative scores from the two phases of the competition win cash prizes.

2025-26 Schedule

November 6, 2025, 11:30 a.m.
Kick-Off event, McKenna Hall 117

Learn about the competition
Hear from former competitors
Free pizza!

January 6–March 9, 2026
Twice weekly resource sessions to help you develop and write your social venture business plan, every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at 12:50 p.m. in McKenna 113. You may attend sessions on an à la carte basis or take the series for credit as BUS 3681: Social Venture Planning for five credits.

Due by February 11, 2026, 5 p.m.
Intent to Participate form due

Due by March 6, 2026, 5 p.m.
Submission Form and written plan due

Due by March 27, 2026, 5 p.m.
Team information for website (specific items TBD)

April 8, 2026, 6 p.m.
Coaching sessions for all competing teams, SPU Ames Library

Due by April 10, 2026, 5 p.m.
Pitch video and one-page executive summary due.

April 15, 2026, 2-6 p.m.
Social Venture Plan Competition Showcase, Upper Gwinn